


What are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me?

by Folie_lex



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Additional scenes, Backstory, F/M, Gen, Missing Scenes, No Slash, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:19:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6362920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Folie_lex/pseuds/Folie_lex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tracking Derek's generally unfortunate love life and its tragic tragectory, until it finaly takes a turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Paige

**Author's Note:**

> #1 - This is completely un-beta’d so all mistakes (humongous and/or minor) just credit them to that. 
> 
> #2 -This started like a character study ficlet, and somehow turned into so much more.
> 
> #3 - I miss Derek... 
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I obviously DO NOT own anything... I'm just a fan expressing some love.

When Laura sets her sights on a new guy her friends make a joke on how she's "on the prowl". For obvious reasons the irony escapes them and they laugh the whole thing off. But they're not wrong really... If she wants a guy she acts more wolf than human. She goes after him, or at the very least she makes it abundantly clear she is available to be gone after.

Derek certainly isn't that aggressive. He might be popular and if the giggles he gets from girls as he makes his way through the school hallways are any indication attractive enough. But he's still a kid and very inexperienced in the romance department. In his case he just tries to figure this girl out. He starts by making it a point to find out when music class is: 3rd period on Tuesdays, 5th period on Thursdays. General rehearsal is on Friday after lunch. Any extra practise time needs to be scheduled by signing in, in advance.

He lurks around the office and puts his smile and gentelmany manners to good use by charming his way with Ms.Sullivan and Becky the freshman who helps at the office to take a peek at the practise sign-in sheet.  
He takes notice on how her name is on there the most, and she has Wednesdays booked solid for the forseable future (ie - winter break).

Trying not to come off as beeing too invasive or creepy - and possibly failing a bit - he also casualy asks around about her and takes note of the classrooms she makes her way to between classes. He even puts his other skills to use and perks his ears up to catch the sound of her voice or tracks her scent through the school.

Evidently they have some common subjects but share no classes. That information in corelation with how much time she spends with her chello, assist with solving the mystery of why he's actually never seen her before.

~ ~ * ~ ~

It's Friday dinner when he makes an offhand comment about how he's thinking of making some changes in his school schedule. He argues it's for basketball practise and regrets it the second the excuse leaves his lips.

"Because you're somehow in bad form?" Laura teases.  
His "No!" is a tad too defensive, and that's enough for his mother to look up from her task of cutting Cora's food into more manageable bites.

"Derek?" Talia asks in that tone that mothers have. He considers for a brief second to actually lie, but he knows his mother of all people will see right through him.  
Half truth it is.  
"I just want Wednesday after lunch off.'  
Peter is about to enquire as to why, but Talia shoots him a look that says the explanation was suficient.  
"As you wish," she lets him know with a smile, and Derek has a growing suspicion she's chosing to play indirefent.

~ ~ * ~ ~

He has lunch outside the music room for the next two weeks. However when the music stops playing and he hears her moving around getting ready to leave, all his first class highschool-jock swagger escapes him. He just turns into this this lovestruck little boy who (literally) runs away scared.

The third week though he labours through the anxiety and stays put until she leaves.

Paige opens the door and sees him right in front of her, sitting on the floor his back to the oposite wall and his backpack beside him. His arms are resting on his knees as he nervously twirls his bascketball between his fingers. Determinately she walks past him, her step brisk. However he's picked up his stuff and is right by her side at a lightening speed.  
She picks up her pace but he effortlessly keeps up with her. As she tries to evade him one last time by turning a swift corner he blocks her way.

"Are you stalking me know? Trying to scare me?" her frustration is evident and so it's normal for her heartbeat to go a bit faster. But there is something in her scent that changes when she looks into his eyes and for some reason he finds that encouraging...  
"I was going to suggest if you'd like a rematch" he says and raises the ball higher between them. "It's only fair. I played your game... and won... We're two for O."  
"I'm good, thanks," and she tries to walk past him again. But he blocks her again. "Okay, now you're just being annoying."

He' not listening to her though. Not really... He's leaning in, slowly and cautiously. When she realises that, she clumslily takes a step back. He puts a steadying hand on her waist and keeps her in place. She stops moving away and involunteraly sways closer to him. Their lips are a few inches away.  
"What are you doing?" she whispers.  
"I honestly have no idea," is his answer. 

And then he kisses her for the first time. He kisses someone that way for the first time ever. And even though it's true, he has no idea what it is he is doing and it is a little uncomfortable, somehow, something feels very right. 


	2. Kate (prelude)

He's sprawled on the floor of "Larry's Secondhand Books" in the classical fiction section. He's reading Kundera again and has picked up a few more volumes wich he has stacked neatly around him. Larry doesn't mind him loitering or the mess because he knows: if Derek is reading, he's also buying. Being the the store's only "regular valued customer" has its perks.

He's heard the boots clicking on the hardwood floors since she walked in 15 minutes ago. But now they are walking down his aisle and casually making their way towards him.  
He discreetly glances up at the long and lean legs attached to those obnoxious shoes a little longer than he needs to (he is a 17 year old boy after all). 

He sees sand blonde hair on a well built body. Her face is still a mystery as she stands facing the opposite row with her back to him. She seems to be checking the books a few shelves over.  
Having fed his curiosity enough, he returns his attention back to whatever Jaromil was up to. Still his sences always being on allert, do pick up when she turns towards him.

"Hey, you seem to know your way around here. Any idea where one might find myths and legends?"  
"Basement," he says automatically without even looking up from his book.  
"Oooooh! Spooky... and not at all original..."

She lets the end of her sentence trail, possibly hoping he'll have something to say about her quippy comment. But his silence is the only answer he's willing to give her. Because yes, he might be a hormonal teenager, but he's also the brooding type, therefore he's less than willing to engage.

The boots click and clack some more as she takes a few steps to cover their distance. She plays footsie with the top book of one of his piles so she can read the title better. Now he feels both annoyed and a little invaded.  
"All the way down and then all right. Can't miss it," he says curtly, eyes still glued to the page.  
"Can't miss what?"  
"The staicase to the basement."  
"Trying to get rid of me, are you?"  
"I just like the quiet, and you..." he makes the mistake to look up defiantly, just to send her off. Instead he finds himself stopping short and swallowing hard. She's 22, maybe 23. And the smile she's giving him makes his breathing difficult. Suddenly he feels much younger than 17. He tries to recover and considering how flustered she's got him, he does okay.  
"...you are not quiet."

It didn't seem possible, but her smile broadens. Their eyes lock and stay that way as she crouches down to his level.  
"Now see, I'm just confused. Going by that letterman jacket of yours, instead of keeping to yourself, sitting of the floor of an old bookstore relishing in the quiet, shouldn't you be out with your jock buddies, making ruckous while riding your cars and getting on everyones nerves?"  
"I tried conforming... didn't work out for me."

He doesn't know what compels him to play along, but it feels nice to have someone take genuine interest in him.  
It hasn't happened since... it hasn't happened in while.

"Well I'm impressed by your defiance towards the stereotype," she says as she stands up.  
She keeps smiling down his way, and throws her thumb over her shoulder gesturing down the aisle.  
"All the way down and then all right, correct?"  
He nods and she walks away. He watches her go, and she shoots him one last glance before she turns the corner. 

He keeps looking at the edge of the hallway with bated breath for a long while even after she's disappeared. 


	3. Kate (beginnings)

They'd had a few chance meetings since the bookstore (though he is smart enough to realise they were far from coincidental) before they actually begin making plans to spend time together. They talk and she flirts and Derek tries to keep up. It's nice and _kinda_ sweet and (almost) innocent, but he feels he's had enouh of that.

They're hanging by the outdoor basketball court of the old school. He's shotting some hoops, while she sits by the nearest bleachers to him, and they're talking about travelling. Kate's been all over the world. The family business has allowed her to do so.

"I've never been out of the state," he admits. "My family ain't too keen on travelling."  
"Sounds resctrictive."  
"You should have been there when my sister announced she wanted and _was_ going to NYU. Big fight!"  
"Oh, those are never fun. Did she go?"  
"Yeah... eventually. But it's still a sore point."  
"I can imagine. But, I mean, you can't blame your parents. It's always hard letting go. My dad and my brother still treat me like a child most of the time," she says with a chuckle.  
"But you're definitely not a child," he says as he drops his ball and begins to walk towards her. There's a resolution in his voice he wasn't entirely sure he could muster up.

"That's nice of you to say Derek."  
"I wasn't going for nice," he's right up in her face as he informs her of that.  
She pulls back coyly.  
"You do know I'm also not 17 right?" she tries to goat him and it works, because he leans in quickly and kisses her.

He's better at it than he used to be, however he's still a little timid and awkward. She doesn't seem to mind though because she kisses him back with ease.

They break apart and their difference in composure is staggering: he's breathless, weeks of up pent up teenage frustration finally getting a release. She's utterly unpertrubed, smirking and looking slightly satisfied... whether it's with him or herself he's not entirely sure.

She cups his face and caresses his smooth cheek with her thumb, and her lips break into a proper smile.  
"That was sweet."  
"I wasn't going for sweet either."  
"Well, we can work on that." She arches her eyebrow mischeviously and drags his lips down to crash with hers again. 

She makes it a point to bite his bottom lip, before she sucks his tongue in her mouth.   



	4. Kate (the happy[?] middle)

There is nothing about their encounters that one could define as tender.  
It's always aggressive, hard and fast... and, if Derek is being honest, not exactly how he imagined it would be. But he learns to like it that way, because that is certainly how Kate likes it. And to be fair, it's not as if it sn't fun for him either.  
What he finds really helps is the fact that despite his inexperience, juding by the way her body reacts to him she genuinelly enjoys their romps. The whole thing does miracles for a young growing man's ego.

As much as he hates to admit it to himself though, sometimes, he hopes they could maybe try something... slower. He cops the whole thing to his age, and tries to push it aside telling himself "you are with a woman and this is the grown up way, so deal" but it doesn't fully subside his wish. He made a few attempts to change their tempo, once or twice. But everytime she just bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, and things just escalated to their regular pace from that moment on.

Their relationship, however, is not just about that. Amongst all the agry sex they do talk. No subject is off limits really: history, literature, mythology... She shares stories about her badass brother, and her hardass father, and her imposing sister in-law... and of course there's all sorts of anecdotes about her little niece; clearly her favourite person in the whole world. And he in turn tells her stories about his family - ommiting certain details, obviously...

But, here's the thing: he honestly believes he doesn't have to lie to her anymore. Paige knew - thought she knew - and she didn't care. And he feels Kate won't either. So this time he trusts his gut an decides to tell the girl... Tell her _something_ at least...

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

She's still in bed, lying on her stomach and she watches as he gets dressed. He's nervous and he hopes she can't tell, but no such luck.  
"Everything alright?"

He takes a deep breath and readies himself for whatever it is he is about to get himself into.  
"I need to tell you something, and I need you to promise me that you won't freak out... or that you'll at least try."  
"Swetie, there is nothing you can tell that will make me freak out."

And its her absolute conviction which blows him away. The absolute belief she has in herself, in him, in them, that there is nothing he can tell her that she can't take.  
"I think I'm in love with you," he blurts out instead of his eloquent long, drawn out and covert admission of being a werewolf, and takes them both by surprise.

Evidently she was wrong, because he's clearly rendered he speachless for the first time since her met her. He finds that disconcerning and she seems to be just as thrown... and in fact a little scared.... which in turn scares him.  
"Derek..." she clears her throat, stalling. "... that's... that really is very sw..."  
"Don't say 'sweet', please. Just... don't."

She complies and opts to keep quiet instead. She reaches up for him, and kisses him deeply and as tenderly as she possibly can.  



	5. Kate (the ending)

"You know she's bad news, right?" Peter says, casually leaning on the doorframe of his bedroom.  
"What are you going on about...?" he enquires without lifting his eyes up from the book in his hands.  
"I'm refering to your lady friend." His non-reaction is all Peter needs to keep going it seems. "And I'm not just saying this because she's older."

Derek tosses his book aside and lifts himself off the bed.  
"You don't know anything about anything, so just stay out of it, okay."  
He turns his back on Peter and begins fussing with nothing in particular over by his dresser.  
"I'm only saying this because I care..."  
Derek cuts him off with a scoff. "Last time you butted in because ' _you cared_ ' things went south very fast, so you'll excuse me if I ignore you."

Avoiding any eye contact he pushes past him and starts to walk away.  
"Derek..." he pleads and there is something in Peter's voice that makes him turn around. He sees his uncle's eyes clear of any mischief.  
"Look, I know you don't believe me, but I mean it. She's... just be careful with that one, okay?"  
And despite the fact that it's pretty clear Peter is not being 100% forthright, Derek can tell there is honesty and some form of genuine consern in the warning.

Downstairs the front door opens, and Laura's voice fills the silence. "I'm home!!"  
Cora's petite footsteps echo in the house as she runs to great her big sister, and Talia's motherly order of "Boys! Come down!" snaps him out of whatever pensive state this conversation has put him in.  
Peter's recovery is more impressive, as the whicked little flicker of swagger ignites in his eyes again.

"Now where's that favourite niece of mine?" he exclaims theatrically as he walks past Derek, and bounces down the staircase.

~ ~ * ~ ~

They've both felt something was off since Laura showed up at the court to pick him up from practise.

They catch the scent of the "something" a few miles before they even reach the poperty gate. Their fears are verified when they actually see the suspicious smoke come up from the top of the hill, where the house is supposed to be, as the car rounds the bend of the main driveway. Wordlessly Laura floors the gas.

Her eyes glimmer as she turns on her wolf sense to see better in the dark. Derek notices their usual yellow hue is taking on a more orange tinge. She feels the shift too, shakes her head and the colour returns back to its human dark hazel. She is not ready to face the reprecaution of what that little incident indicates. Neither does he.

They are at the last stretch of the driveway now, and they would normally be able to see the house. Instead they are faced with red and yellow flames and thick grey smoke enveloping the whole structure. Throught the crackling of the wood burning and glass breaking, they can hear faint screaming.

It seems impossible to accelerate the car anymore but Laura tries anyway.  
Derek sees something coming out of the smoke. The outline of a figure - it looks black against the fire - waddles and stumbles down the driveway. It falls to the ground and a terrible scream rips through the woods. Laura brings the car to a screaching halt and they both jump out and run towards whoever that is.

But he stops short. Amidst the overwhelming smell of smoke and ash, he can detect gasoline and... no... it can't be...

He's sure, however. He _does_ smell Kate's presense too. She's been here; might _still_ be here (the smoke makes that detail hard to specify). What is worse - and he has no time to mull in the disbelief that it could get worse - is what kind of scent she was (is?) exuming. It's almost the same like when she's reached her climax. That doing this: kiling - no  burning alive \- his loved ones would bring her to an ecstatic state...

"DEREK!!" Laura yells at him, clearly not for the first time. She's firm and authorative and sounds almost exactly like their mother. It's enough to to snap him out of his shock.

He turns to look at his sister and sees her eyes shine bright red.  



	6. Kate (aftermath)

It's an odd collection of of alphas, emisaries and other representatives from other neighbouring (and even some not so neighbouring) packs. He'd consider it less of a wake or even a memorial and more of a convetion of the supernatural if he's being completely honest.

It doesn't matter much anyway, because Derek doesn't engage with anyone and stays away from the commotion for most of the day.  
At some point he finds a quiet closet adjacent to the main etrnance of the reception hall and decides to stay hidden in there. He pulls the brand new copy of Fahrenheit 451 he bought yesterday, and begins to read. He's already read it, and he used to own a copy but he lost it in the fire, much like the rest of his belongings, and his life... and his heart. It was an ironic purchace he made on a masochistic whim. He felt he deserved be tortured in some way, and he'll gladly do it himself to himself.

He's a good third into the book when he hears someone enter the lobby from the other side of his door.  
Another door slams and Laura's angry essence fills his nostrils.  
Not a second passes and the vaguely familiar scent of two more people follow suit. They both reak of worry.  
"OUT!" Laura howls.  
"I'm just here to..." a man begins, but Laura is having none of it.  
"I don't care!! Get out or I will rip your throat out with my teeth!!!"

It's enough for Derek to drop his book and turn his offence mode on. It's the soothing tone of a second man's voice that stops him short from breaking down the closet door.  
"Laura, please restrain yourself."  
"Stay out of this Alan!"  
"Your mother knew the benefits of being civil," Alan tries to reason.  
"Yeah and look what that got her! Satomi-san let! Me! Go!!"  
"Laura look at me!" Satomi's voice it the first of the other three that Derek recognises. "Three things that cannot be hidden for long. The sun, the moon and the truth."

Derek listens as his sister's hearbeat slows down. The scent of her anger gets diluted while she chants "alpha-beta-omega" quielty under her breath, and Derek allows himself to also relax his defences.  
"You should go," Alan warns the other man.  
"I _am_ just here to pay my respects."  
"They are unwelcome. Leave," is Satomi's laconic responce.

There is a tense silence, that Derek feels lasts forever, until it sounds like the man gets the hint and begins walking towards the exit.  
"Chris." Laura now calls for his attention. It seems to work as the receding footsteps stop. "Can you guys give us a minute please?"

Laura sounds calm now, but there is a hardness of a peculiar determination in her voice. Alan and Satomi must have picked up on that, because they don't say anything and it doesn't sound like they've making any attempts to move away.  
"It will be fine and _'civil_ ' don't worry. I'm calm, and I'm sure Chris here can take care of himself." Derek can feel the disconcertment from both Alan and Satomi, but he also hears them shuffling away regardless, leaving Laura and this 'Chris' alone.

Chris... Chris... The name suddenly raises a red flag, and Derek wonders for a second where has he heard that before...  
Suddenly, it clicks: One of the Argents is a Chris. Kate's 'badass' brother is Chris. This is Chris Argent! And Derek lunges for the doorknob.  
"Derek, please come out here."  
He stumbles just as he's about to open the door, as Laura's request filters through his ears.  
Her voice still has that calm collected quality and he figures partly why she regained her composure was probably because she realised he was close by. She's his alpha, and his older sister and the only mentaly functioning family he has left and she's asking him for the same courtesy, so he complies.

He takes a moment to collect himself and opens the closet door. He finds himself standing between the hunter and his sister as they are having a bit of a staredown. Laura gestures him to come over to her and be obeys. She puts a protective arm around his shoulder and nudges him closer to her.

"So this is it," she says. "This is all that is left of the Hale pack. Now that you've taken inventory you can go back and report that to your dad and whichever shrew you have calling the shots these days. Mission complete."  
"That is not why I came." He sounds defensive, but Derek sees maybe a hint of guilt in the man's eyes. This may have not been the primary reason for his being here but it certainly was on the agenda.  
"Save it Chris. I don't believe you."  
"Because we are the untrustworthy ones here."  
"You are," Laura declares defiantly. Any remorse Argent may have felt vanishes in the face of his principles being put in question.

"Honestly Chris, I'm just surprised you and yours didn't jump on this opportunity to get rid of us all: Here we are, gathered together, monsters of every kind from every corner of the world prepped and ready for the slaughter."  
"I know you're in mourning kid, but watch you words a bit more carefully. You're toeing the line!"  
It is clearly a threat veiled as a warning, and Laura doens't seem to care.  
"Oh, of course. How silly of me. It would look way too suspicious, right after the fire."

"That is **not** how we do things!"  
Argent is genuinely furious and insulted.  
Laura on the other hand has a very satisfied and sardonic smirk on her face.  
"Right... it's against the ' ** _code_** '... I forget... You don't kill non-supernatural monsters like our stepfather... a perfectly boring normal human guy who fell in love with a werewolf and had a wolf baby. And you don't kill children either... not even werewolf cubs... like our baby sister... she couldn't have been any older than your own daughter by the way... No, your lot wouldn't do that. That would make you as bad as us... It would make you worse actually..."

Despite the bite and sarcasm in Laura's voice, there is an underlining sadness that seems to affect Argent.  
"You're clearly overwhelmed, and it is a bad time. If you really think we had anything to do with this... tragedy, we could - we _should_ talk about it when you've calmed down."  
"That won't be necessary. We'll be leaving."

This takes both Derek and Chris by surprise.

"I plan for us to stick around just until the school year is over so Derek can graduate from high school, and then, as I assume it happens in your father's wet dreams, we'll pack our lives and and get the hell out of dodge, making Beacon Hills Hale-free and by extension supernaturally purged."  
Derek tries to process this information, and Argent is simply looking at Laura waiting to see if he is being dupped.  
"Laura your mother would never..."  
"My mother is not here. So answer me: us leaving, isn't that what you _really_ want?"  
He nods reluctanlty.  
"Well you got it! You win! No more Hale pack. I won't even turn anyone, ever. You have my word. I'm... We're done and gone! On one condition."  
"Which is?"  
"You keep your family - your _whole_ family - away from my brother."  
"You promise to stay away?" There seems to be a part of him that still expects this to be a ruse.  
"I do."  
"Then that won't be a problem."  
"Wonderful. Now get the hell out."

Argent turns his back to them and takes the last few steps to the door. He lingers there for a beat until he eventually turns look back.  
"I trully am sorry for your loss." He sounds honest, but Derek has a hard time believing him.  
Laura's next words find them in agreement.  
"No, you're not. You don't know how to be."  
Dejected in his last attempt to offer his condolences Chris Argent exits the reception hall lobby and leaves them there alone.

They watch him go, through the glass door, and the arm Laura has around his shoulder pulls him closer. She places a tender peck of a kiss on his temple, and it's a sisterly affection he didn't know he needed. Involuntarily he closes his eyes at the gesture and leans on her a bit more.

"I'm sorry about that," she whispers just for him.  
"You okay?" he asks her.  
"I am now. You?"  
"I will be," he says and wraps his hands around her waist as she holds him closer.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

 

Laura stays true to her word.

She spends the last couple of months of the school year, fussing with getting their affairs in order: she arranges for Peter's hospilazation. She talks to doctors, nurses, insurance companies, banks, finance lawyers, property lawyers, realtors. She invests some of their money, she buys some real estate (a whole building downtown goes under Derek's name), she buys some bonds, puts decent ammounts of money in various savings accounts.

She deals with the other thing too: she takes meetings with other alphas from various packs. Derek is always sent way during these visits. He hears her having heated conversations with "Alan" on the phone on a regular basis. And she ends up having to visit the vault often (Derek having suffered a tragic loss and still attending classes offers a good excuse for her to swing by the school at any time).

None of her personal affairs come up this whole time expect for once, when her friend Marin from highschool pays her a visit. Laura blows her off and can't her away from Derek fast enough.

For his part, Derek just tries to get by at school.  
And on the day of his graduation Laura has the car packed and ready to go.  
Right after the ceremony he drops off his graduation gown, says goodbye to nobody and makes his way to the parking lot where his sister is waiting. Wordlessly they get in the car and drive off.

As they reach the edge of the town two cruisers are parked on either side of the road. Chris is leaning on one of the cars and is the only visible person around.  
But he catches _her_ scent too and his eyes glow blue as he whips his head around angrily looking for her and inhaling sharply.

Laura reaches over to him and puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.  
"Alpha - Beta - Omega," his sister calmly says.  
"Alpha - Beta - Omega," he repeats again and again until he regains control.

He opens his eyes when Kate's scent is no longer potent, and watches Beacon Hills becoming smaller and smaller in the side view mirror.


End file.
